


Double Act

by sw33n3y



Category: Rose and Maloney
Genre: Gen, TV Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 08:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6510991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sw33n3y/pseuds/sw33n3y
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It shouldn't have worked, but.....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double Act

So this was purgatory, or something like it. Rose ran her fingers over the lump above her brow and, for a moment, was able to shut out the catalogue of misdemeanours being read to them. She focused on the figure seated across from her, beside the wilting yucca. Neat, neutral attire, nondescript features - all the ‘N’s’. If she hadn’t known otherwise, she’d have thought he was the visiting accountant. Behind the glinting metal frames Maloney’s face registered… slight discomfort but beyond that, nothing discernible.

‘…And no search warrant’ Canford paused to give the words extra weight. ‘We were not in the business of being laughed out of court last time I checked but, you see, this is the kind of mistake that could have us _all_ out on our ears.’

Rose had learned that, in this job, crossing T’s and dotting I’s didn’t always get results and it was the results she was interested in, less so, the official paper trail. Not one of her better gambles though, she had to admit.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Running on a rush of new information, and the knowledge that Bexley was across town, she’d dragged Maloney along for the ride. Even as she blustered down the corridor at Vernon Place, his _‘not a good idea - we really shouldn’t’_ backing track danced in her ears. It was as irritating as shopping centre muzak and she ignored it with the same level of indifference.

They knew something was wrong as soon as they stopped in front of number Twelve. The door wasn’t locked. It wasn’t even latched, and swung open noiselessly at a touch. Someone else had been on the trail. The door continued to sweep through to the end of its arc until it framed the Goldilocks moment perfectly. There was a second or two where the group stood facing each other, frozen; looks of surprise all round. Things then proceeded quite logically from there, despite the apparent chaos. ..He took flight. _She_ acted on reflex and grabbed the back of his jacket as he pushed past her, wielding a desk lamp, only losing her grip when it collected her on the forehead. This was one of those times when three was definitely a crowd.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Rose blinked wearily and let her gaze wander to the other side of the glass petition, watching the office staff come and go like so many worker ants. The blows, actual and metaphorical were rousing her most reliable coping strategy - cynicism. She’d copped it on the chin one too many times, of late, to assume that anything might go her way.

What brought her back to the room, was a voice that didn’t belong to Canford. It was, in fact, Maloney - speaking for both of them. She tuned in again, intrigued, feeling her expression change from interest to amazement as she panned between Maloney’s carefully reasoned response and Canford’s passive mask, while he wrestled with the facts. She couldn’t have been more surprised, when he finally ended his deliberations with a grudging mumble of acceptance and the obligatory _‘don’t slip up again.’_  

How the hell did he _do_ that: explain away the unexplainable and turn up the ‘Get Out of Jail, Free’ card? Had she tried it, they’d both be putting in nights working through the agency shoplifting files.

They tumbled out into the world again like a couple of belligerent teens shrugging off detention, enjoying the first moments of their reprieve and the last of the afternoon sun.

Flicking the strap off her shoulder, Rose rummaged around in her bag distractedly and produced a cigarette, before turning out of the breeze to light up.

‘Well go on then’ she prompted.

‘What?’

‘Tell us what you were up to in there’ she continued, waving her cigarette vaguely in direction of the building.

‘I wasn’t _up to_ anything.’

‘Oh come on, Maloney! Do you really think I came down in the last shower?’

‘Alright, I was just buying us some time.’

Rose had been hoping for some clarity but the comment merely confirmed the impression that they were reading from different pages, and that more than annoyed her.

‘Am I missing something here?  Because two hours ago, _we_ – me and you, couldn’t get out of Bexley’s place fast enough, she said, pointing to herself then Maloney for emphasis.

‘Look Rose, maybe we should sit down and pool what we’ve got on this so far. Like Canford says - teamwork.’

‘Team what?’ She looked at him wide eyed, as though he’d broken into fluent Latin and expected her to keep up.

‘Yeah, you know, comparing notes with each other on leads and such.’

‘And where did you get that ‘warm-and-fuzzy’ from, buddy cop TV?’

‘Well we’re no Regan and Carter, I’ll give you that, but…’

‘T’hoo right!’ laughed Rose, turning her face away, puffs of exhaled smoke punctuating the air on each syllable.  ‘Closer to Pete and Dudley …and running out of material for the next show.’

‘Yes, um, about that.’

The hesitation in his voice made Rose’s brow furrow. Getting through a day like this on Benson & Hedges and adrenalin was not ideal, especially when she’d missed her last insulin jab. Patience thinning, she managed to turn on her best ‘I’m trying’ expression.

‘See, I may have, as we were leaving the office, noticed our intruder dropped something.’ Timing it perfectly, Maloney brought a hand out of his coat pocket and opened it to reveal the shiny piece of silver plastic – a USB stick.

Rose’s head tilted slowly at the sight and her mouth fell open. The hurdle she’d braced for suddenly melted away.

‘The list!’

‘Dunno, but it’s worth a try. ..Got to be something on there that will give us Bexley’s connections.’

 _List or not, there’s clearly something of value here_ , Rose decided, mind racing ahead to all the possibilities. The more she thought about it, the more she felt sure that this was the leg-up they needed: something that could nail Bexley _and_ buy back their own credibility. They had to get a look at the files.

‘So do you, er… want to stop for a pint on the way back’ asked Maloney, cautiously interrupting the silence.

‘No.’

‘Ok then.’

‘Glass of red …bloody.’

Rose found herself smiling, not just a leg-up, this could be their very own magic bullet. She was suddenly buoyed by the idea, even if it was a long shot.

‘You know, Maloney, if I squint a bit, I can almost see ‘Holmes and Watson’ looking over our shoulders right now.’

‘Don’t kid yourself’ he mused.

‘Bodie and Doyle?’

..‘French and Saunders.’

If the speed and bite of the comeback caught her off guard, she didn’t show it, much. Maloney almost missed the slight nod that followed - Rose Linden’s concession to a point won.


End file.
